What a lovely wilderness! Is the beehive inhabited?
nature notes
- Thread starter MrsBiscuit
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It is. There are actually three of them. They aren't mine. I don't know anything much about bees, and certainly not enough to deal with the hives.Marigold said:
Hen-Gen said:dianefairhall said:03 Poor little fella! Well done for trying, Marigold. I don't think I could have done it, picking out maggots with tweezers.
Though they don’t like hedgehogs in your neck of the woods do they. SNC would be happy with extinction. As would the RSPB here.
As far as I know there have never been hedgehogs on Harris/Lewis. The ones on South Uist were introduced to deal with the slug 'problem'! The hedgehogs started eating the eggs of the ground-nesting birds instead which was much more of a problem so they started a programme of extermination. I think they're all gone now. South Uist has an even bigger problem now with over 30 covid cases.
Margaid
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dianefairhall said:
You'd be surprised what you can do when there's no option! Mother-in-law couldn't groom her elderly dog properly although she said she was brushing her. I stepped in when, apart from the awful smell, I realised the dog was whimpering. The long hair at her back end was matted, in huge soiled clumps and full of maggots which by now were starting to burrow into her - hence the whimpering. I sorted that out as best I could but couldn't deal with all the other mats in her coat so took her to the vet who sorted her out. Poor old girl was a different dog when I went to collect her and I mean in behaviour not just her looks!
bigyetiman
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Well done for trying. At least the hedgehog wasn't left to die over days. Lovely garden pics. Ours is mostly underwater today, as the lake has gone from
nearly empty to escaping in every direction
nearly empty to escaping in every direction
Fly strike is something we all need to watch out for on our chickens when they have dirty bums, or are being pecked, and especially if one has a prolapse. It can develop incredibly fast, especially in hot weather. Has anybody actually had to deal with an outbreak?
Tweetypie
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That's such a sad story, Marigold. All the effort you went to, to make the hedgehog comfortable and free of those vile maggots.You know what? He probably still had some comfort in the meals you gave him. Seems he wanted to survive. :-( It is sad the vet could save him.
I often see dogs off the leads in the woods, when there are clear notices up stating that they must be on a lead. Personally, I am also sick of 'playing bingo' when I got out on a country walk (eyes down looking, your first dog shite coming up), but that's another gripe, dogs attacking our wildlife is another fact that a lot of owners just don't give a stuff!
I often see dogs off the leads in the woods, when there are clear notices up stating that they must be on a lead. Personally, I am also sick of 'playing bingo' when I got out on a country walk (eyes down looking, your first dog shite coming up), but that's another gripe, dogs attacking our wildlife is another fact that a lot of owners just don't give a stuff!
rick
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Marigold - I have a 150mm core drill for making holes in brick walls but everyone goes - 'brilliant idea... but maybe not now we have thought about rats getting in.' For goodness sakes! Rats dont find walls a problem and anyway cats sit next to holes (I have observed this) and rodents would never use such an obvious route. Anyway - will keep offering to make holes.
This bird is amazing. I loved the bit where it said
‘The male bar-tailed godwit, whose standard weight is between 190gm and 400gm, can double in size before a long flight but is able to shrink its internal organs to lighten the load.’ An example to us all.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/13/jet-fighter-godwit-breaks-world-record-for-non-stop-bird-flight
‘The male bar-tailed godwit, whose standard weight is between 190gm and 400gm, can double in size before a long flight but is able to shrink its internal organs to lighten the load.’ An example to us all.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/13/jet-fighter-godwit-breaks-world-record-for-non-stop-bird-flight
bigyetiman
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We had 8 of them fly over the house today as well.
Bearded Tits eat insects all summer, then in autumn grow a bigger crop to cope with the change to a seed diet, nature is so resourceful
Bearded Tits eat insects all summer, then in autumn grow a bigger crop to cope with the change to a seed diet, nature is so resourceful
South Cubbington Wood, in the way of HS2.
Before
And after.
Before
And after.
Hen-Gen
Well-known member
The cliche springs to mind, “No pain, No gain” but even so it looks like sacrilege.
I’m not getting into the merits, or otherwise, of HS2. But for me environmental desecration is heart rending.
I’m not getting into the merits, or otherwise, of HS2. But for me environmental desecration is heart rending.
rick
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Cubbington is just a couple of miles away. I suspect that the first and second photo are not taken from the same spot and the route has ploughed through the north east of the wood. I'm not looking forward to going and seeing what has happened but I think I should.
Any other sceptics like me who believe substantial environmental damage will be done before the project is finally abandoned?
bigyetiman
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Add on Calvert Lakes nature reserve to name another, partially destroyed, it's heartbreaking seeing some of the pics on twitter. Also people being employed to shoot animals trying to escape the bulldozers
What?????
rick
Active member
I popped over to Cubbington today. They haven't really got started on the tree removal, just a bit of clearing around each end of what will be the line's entrance and exit through the wood. It will slice off a triangle from one side that is about 1/5 of the area of the woodland involving, at a guess, actual removal of about 10% of the wood to clear the line. Still, it will cut the wood up in a way that cannot help the wildlife network, is shocking to contemplate and there will be an occasional train doing 250mph whizzing through!
It looks like the mitigation planting went in last winter - closely planted native species which will quickly build habitat. There is one thing that train lines do always provide and that is a corridor (a boon in the city but there are already hedgerows in the countryside!)
There are some good views from outside Cubbington. Saw a surprising number of mostly young rooks and a kestrel.
It looks like the mitigation planting went in last winter - closely planted native species which will quickly build habitat. There is one thing that train lines do always provide and that is a corridor (a boon in the city but there are already hedgerows in the countryside!)
There are some good views from outside Cubbington. Saw a surprising number of mostly young rooks and a kestrel.
chrismahon
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We have a lot of mushrooms as well Dinosaw, but only one variety so far. Found a huge yellow caterpillar on the lawn this morning- still alive but too cold to move. Turns out to be a Death's Head Hawk Moth. Haven't posted the photos because there are plenty come up on a Google search. I've moved it out of reach of the chickens.
Hen-Gen
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Lovely pictures, dinosaw. I’ve always been wary of eating most wild fungi because they can look very alike but can have fatal results. The only one I have harvested and eaten is Shaggy Inkcap which is unmistakable, and very tasty. Apparently some of those big bracket fungi are edible but they always look slightly alien to me.
(Oh, a lie. I have eaten Psilocybin)
(Oh, a lie. I have eaten Psilocybin)
